Non-Static Depiction: Juhani Tuominen & Alicja Dobrucka

17.05.2014

Gallery NapaKairatie 3, Rovaniemi, Finland

Open

Tuesday-Thursday at 12-18Friday at 11-17Saturday at 12-16

Opening Fri 16th May 6-8 pm. Welcome!

Non-Static Depiction - contemporary art of traditional inspiration, addresses the concept of folklore as well as traditional craft and design in the work of contemporary artists. Inspired by local traditions from the Turkish region of Sivas, the project encourages the exploration of local craft and design practices within a contemporary framework. The title of this project is taken from the Joseph Kosuth essay “The Artist as Anthropologist”, in which Kosuth describes how an artist, as opposed to a disengaged scientist/anthropologist, has the ability to be immersed in a researched culture and affect it. Artistic activity, as praxis, does not function as a detached overview of culture but a socially mediating and engaged activity. Using this as a starting point, the two exhibiting artists have conducted research-orientated projects in the Turkish region of Sivas, seeking to create new artworks in response to the local culture and traditions of the region.

The resulting exhibition presents artworks that draw on the artists’ own regional (Polish and Lappish) traditions while celebrating particular materials and iconography with strong references to traditional Turkish craft. Although the pieces presented are profoundly influenced by Sivas heritage, they also contain an underlying reference to the artists’ own cultural identities and personal experiences. In addition, they highlight the contrast between contemporary and traditional, urban and rural, old and new, minimalism and ornament. The works emerge from this cultural encounter, conveying an artist’s reflections on tradition and identity along with an engaged observer’s reflections on Turkish heritage.

Artists:

Currently based in London, Polish artist Alicja Dobrucka is interested in exploring the question of where one culture starts and another ends using craft techniques from different regions. She will take a design used in traditional Polish paper cutting out to Turkey and collaborate with local carpet and rug makers to produce/reproduce the original design in the form of a carpet.

Finnish painter Juhani Tuominen investigates the connections between Turkish and Lappish traditions. Tuominen divides his time between living in Istanbul, Turkey and Rovaniemi, Finland. His work explores Turkish culture – with a particular focus on the tombs (türbe) from the Ottoman period – and combines it with Lappish/Finnish traditions.

The project is presented by three organisations working in partnership: Arts Territory (London), The Artists’ Association of Lapland (Rovaniemi), and SHV - Sivas Hizmet Vakfi (Sivas), as a part of the TANDEM Turkey-European Union Cultural Managers Exchange Programme. We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Frame Foundation and British Arts Council.